No. 14 Wake Forest stretches its winning streak to five games with a 51-7 rout of Virginia

Updated Oct. 31, 2026 7:05 p.m. ET

Associated Press

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Ty Clark III scored on three short runs, Gio Lopez threw a touchdown pass and Connor Calvert kicked three field goals Saturday as No. 14 Wake Forest posted a 51-7 runaway win over Virginia to stretch its winning streak to five.

Wake Forest (7-1, 4-1 ACC) posted the second biggest margin of victory over the Cavaliers (4-5, 2-4 ACC) in the 54-game history of the series. In their last four games, the Demon Deacons have surrendered four touchdowns while scoring 187 points.

The Cavaliers have lost their last three. They faced the prospect of their first shutout since Virginia Tech took a 10-0 victory in 2017 before quarterback Beau Pribula connected with De’Shawn Martin on a 47-yard scoring play with 50 seconds left in the third quarter.

Lopez, who was 13 of 21 for 229 yards, suffered an apparent leg injury late in the third quarter, but was able to limp off the field. Steele Pizzella replaced Lopez and finished a scoring drive with Jamar Searcy’s 7-yard scoring run.

Kyndall McCaleb chipped in a 27-yard touchdown run for Wake Forest in the fourth quarter.

Virginia entered Wake Forest territory twice in the first half, and each time, the Cavaliers met with disaster. Pribula threw a third-down interception from the Wake Forest 47, which the Demon Deacons converted into a 45-yard field goal from Calvert with 2:30 left in the first quarter.

The second trip may have been the most painful. The Cavaliers drove from their own 19 to the Wake Forest 6, but on a fourth-and-1, Zay Davis took the direct snap for no gain. The Demon Deacons cashed in that stand and got a 25-yard field goal from Calvert with 10 seconds left before the break.

Virginia was repelled again on a fourth-and-goal at the Wake Forest 5 in the fourth quarter.